


Emotional Baggage in Aisle Three

by Xiolette (Writing_Doodle)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (that's the major character death - it's only alluded to), Emotional Baggage, F/F, Gen, Grocery Shopping, Kairi is Angry, Riku is Oblivious, SDAU - Sora Dies AU, Twilight Town, Xion is Punk, and Olette is Protective, you know... the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 18:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19978876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_Doodle/pseuds/Xiolette
Summary: Riku and Kairi head into Twilight Town for a quick supply run. As it turns out, nothing they ever do can be that simple.Or, Kairi encounters an old friend who reminds her of a dead one.





	Emotional Baggage in Aisle Three

**Author's Note:**

> The SDAU is a Very Extensive AU that I created with a friend. More information can be found [here.](https://xiolette.tumblr.com/post/184973495295/mewuniverse-replied-to-your-post-i-want-to-talk)
> 
> Requested from tumblr.

As they walked past the rusted iron gates, Kairi blew her bangs out of her face and kicked a pebble. It whizzed through the air and took a chunk of bark out of a nearby tree. 

Riku raised his eyebrows at her but didn’t say a word. 

Kairi glared at him as if he did. “I’m fine,” she snapped. 

Riku continued to look at her. 

Kairi threw her hands in the air. “Alright! I’m pissed off! Happy?” 

Riku shrugged. “What’s there to be happy about? I hate seeing him as much as you do.”

“He’s just so…! Ugh! The way he treats Namine?” She gestured wildly and kicked at the underbrush to get her point across and Riku nodded along silently. “Sometimes I just wanna punch him in his stupid bandaged face.” 

“Me too, but where would that get us?” Riku sighed. He was just as mad as Kairi, but he was quiet about it. “We n-”

“If you say ‘ _ we need him’  _ one more time  _ your  _ stupid face is the next one getting punched.” Kairi jabbed her finger in his face and Riku nodded absently, used to the half-hearted threats. Kairi fumed for a few more seconds before the anger left her and she just felt tired. “I hate this. I hate doing his dirty work.” 

Riku reached out and squeezed her hand lightly. “Me too,” He agreed, voice barely loud enough for her to hear. He let go of her hand and Kairi fought the urge to take it back. 

She stretched her empty hand and stared at the sunset filtering through the canopy of trees. The gold streams mixed with the green of the forest and looked like something from a dream. This world was so beautiful… She wished she got to visit it in better circumstances. 

The two ducked under a hole in an old brick wall and walked into town. They hitched a ride on a passing tram and ignored the suspicious glances from some of the other townspeople. 

“We might as well stock up on supplies before we head over to Yen Sid’s,” Riku kept an eye out on the shops they passed. “Potions and stuff.” 

“What, don’t trust my awesome healing magic?” Kairi teased, elbowing his arm.

“I’m sure you’re a great healer,” Riku pushed her elbow away and pinched her cheek. “It’s just a shame  _ your  _ magic hurts too much to be worth it.”

She stuck her tongue at him, but she was secretly glad that they’ve moved on to the point where they could tease about how incompatible they were. She was so proud at how far he’s come since… 

Well, that wasn’t anything she wanted to get into at the moment. 

She let Riku pull her off the tram before it even reached a proper stop. Some people inside and outside watched wide-eyed as they continued on like they didn’t just jump out of a moving vehicle. Kairi thought that they should probably put in a bigger effort at blending in, but they didn’t really go to this world often enough for it to be worth it. 

“After we restock our supplies, I want to go to the accessory shop,” Kairi said as they walked into a grocery store. “I want to get some new rings.” She gave the woman at the counter a smile and was met with something between shock and suspicion. Kairi frowned and tugged at her hair self-consciously. Was her hair color  _ that  _ unusual here? She didn’t usually get stares like she’s been getting lately. She squinted at Riku and wondered if it was  _ him  _ they were all staring at. 

He was oblivious as always, making a bee-line to the soda aisle. 

“Y’know,” Kairi knelt down to look at the stock on the bottom shelf. “The Moogle shop is cheaper.”  _ And we get fewer stares there.  _

Riku showed her a liter of something bright blue and put it back when Kairi grimaced and shook her head. “Yeah, but they don’t sell their potions in big bottles like these. It’s cheaper, in the long run, to just get it in bulk and divide it up later.” 

Kairi grabbed a bottle of strawberry soda and stood back up. Riku was already carrying two bottles of ginger ale. “How do we know if the soda would actually convert properly?” She asked, just to be annoying. “It’d really suck if you took a swig of just regular soda in the middle of a fight and I’d end up having to heal you anyway.” 

Riku rolled his eyes and smiled just a little too fondly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Yen Sid’s a powerful wizard. I doubt he’ll let us go with just regular soda.” His smile shifted into something more smug as he held out his two bottles. “Plus, I’m starting to figure out which ones convert into what. These are gonna give us  _ at least  _ a month’s supply of hi-potions.” 

“Wow, pretty  _ and  _ smart.” Kairi teased, without really thinking about it. “Who knew you’d be the whole package?” 

“Please, if anyone on this team was the whole package, it’d be you.” 

There was a long pause as both people processed the words. 

Kairi slowly felt her face heat up and she couldn’t see if Riku was actually blushing, but the almost panicked look on his face confirmed it for her. Before he could say anything, she shoved her bottle in his hands and stammered something about getting more ethers. 

By the time Riku found his voice, she was already in the snack aisle, face burning, staring down a wall of variety packs. She wasn’t even looking at them, she was just willing her blush to  _ go away  _ and for her to work up the nerve to face down Riku and his stupid smile and his stupid face again. 

“Kairi…?” 

And Kairi wanted to fall through the floor because she’s  _ not ready  _ yet and -

Then, it registered that that wasn’t Riku’s voice. She recognized it from somewhere. It was… 

She turned towards the voice, eyes wide. The person at the end of the aisle looked even more shocked than Kairi felt. 

“Xion…?”

Xion took a few shaky steps closer to Kairi and, yeah, it  _ was  _ her. Her hair was black, now, and shaved on one side. Her eyes were also brown. Hair dye? Contacts? Kairi didn’t know enough about Replica physiology and if she could change her appearance at will. She had a feeling that she shouldn’t outright ask her about that, either. 

The silence was heavy. 

Xion shifted her weight and shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket. “Uh… it’s… good to see you?” They both winced at how fake the words sounded. 

Kairi blindly grabbed a bag of ethers and hoped for the best. “Yeah, uh, I didn’t know this is where you were hanging out nowadays.” 

Xion looked down at her ratty, sharpie covered shoes. “DiZ just kind of dropped me off here. He didn’t think it was worth the effort to take me somewhere further.” 

The anger flared up in Kairi’s chest again. “What a fucking  _ asshole. _ ” She hissed. 

Xion blinked in surprise, but a smile slowly inched across her face. “Yeah,” She agreed. “But it all ended up alright. I -” 

“Shion?” Another voice called, before a girl their age with wavy brown hair and a school uniform walked into the aisle. “There you are! I’ve been looking... “ The girl noticed Kairi and her green eyes immediately narrowed. She took Xion’s hand and Kairi thought,  _ Oh.  _

Looks like things really did end up alright for her. 

Xion whispered something to the girl that sounded suspiciously close to, “Be nice.” The girl didn’t look happy, but her glare lessened. She looked Kairi up and down as if she was assessing a threat level. She didn’t let go of Xion’s hand. 

“This is, uh…” Xion rubbed the back of her neck in a way that achingly reminded Kairi of… “This is Olette. She’s a… good friend.” 

Olette nodded politely, but that was it. Kairi didn’t know what Xion’s friend thought of her, but she supposed it was fair that her opinion wasn’t very high. There was only so much about Xion’s story that could be explained and… Well, she had no control over the conclusion’s people might’ve drawn. At least it solved the mystery of the stares she’s been getting - it’s not every day you see someone who looks exactly like someone else. Or at least, they did before Xion changed her hair. 

Kairi looked over Xion and her ripped jeans, layered jackets, and shaved head. She had new piercings in one of her ears and chipped black paint on her nails. Her body was tilted towards Olette and she held the girl’s hand with a tenderness Kairi could only dream of. 

She smiled softly, keeping in mind the tense atmosphere. “I’m so glad everything turned out all right for you, Xion.” 

Xion’s returning smile at least looked genuine. She relaxed and Olette relaxed too, just slightly. “Thank you. I hope everything…” Xion stopped, unable to address it directly. “I hope you’re okay.” She settled. 

_ I’m not,  _ Kairi wanted to say, but she couldn’t speak over the wave of sorrow that crashed over her at the reminder of… Well. She fought herself out of it. She took a deep breath and she didn’t think about it. Her voice shook when she said, “Yeah, it’s all good. I, uh… I gotta get back to Riku.”

Kairi could tell that Xion didn’t believe her, but she nodded, understanding. “Don’t let me hold you up.”

Kairi nodded back, a bit frantic. “Yeah, uh,” She waved quickly, leaving it at that. Before she could fully leave the aisle, Xion called her attention again. When Kairi looked back, her eyes were serious and full of guilt and  _ Light, she didn’t want to go through this again _ . 

“I’m sorry for everything,” Xion’s voice was low and unsure. She could hardly meet Kairi’s eyes. “Tell Riku that I’m sorry, too.” 

Kairi felt a flare of anger evaporate what was left of the sorrow, like the sun drying the ground after it rained. She didn’t know who she was angry at; if she was angry at Xion for bringing it up, herself for being unable to move on, or The Organization for… well, everything they’ve done to both of them. The anger bled into her voice, despite her best efforts. “No, I won’t. It’s not your fault. None of it was your fault.” Xion flinched at her tone and Kairi was the one who should’ve felt guilty. Still, she continued, “Please, don’t beat yourself up over something you had no control over.” 

Xion finally met Kairi’s eyes, looking uncomfortably close to tears. Kairi wanted to reach out and comfort her, but something held her back. She had a distinct feeling that it wasn’t her place, that she’d only make it worse. She stood there in the middle of the aisle feeling dumb and useless and out of place. She looked at Olette desperately and the girl seemed to take pity on her. She wrapped an arm around Xion’s shoulders and murmured something Kairi couldn’t hear. 

Feeling dismissed, Kairi turned out of the aisle and made her way back to Riku. The embarrassment was long forgotten, buried under a landslide of feelings she thought she could safely tuck away. She was grateful that she knew he wouldn’t question her if she broke down in front of him.

What happened with Xion could come later, once she’s separated herself from the situation for long enough to talk about it. For now… for now, she could just use a hug. She finally looked down at the bag of ethers she was holding on to for dear life and she grimaced. 

She could also use a good enough excuse for why she came back with Riku’s least favorite flavor. 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment and check out [my KH blog](https://xiolette.tumblr.com) :3c


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